Playing a rival can bring some extra motivation. Add to that the Larkin girls basketball team was still looking for its first win and you hope for a fast start.

The Royals came out Tuesday night fired up and ran out to a 15-2 lead less than 5 minutes into the game against crosstown rival Elgin. Larkin never trailed, led by double figures for all but a couple of minutes in the final three quarters and earned a 53-47 victory, its first of the season.

It feels good. Finally, hard work pays off, said Royals senior Taylor Lindsey, who finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Its a town rivalry so we have to put our best out there and give 120 percent instead of 110.

Lindsey got the Royals (1-7, 1-3 Upstate Eight River) started by scoring the first 4 points of the game. Her 3-point play with 3:14 remaining in the first quarter gave Larkin a 15-2 lead.

The Royals shot 8-of-14 in the first quarter and led 19-7 heading to the second quarter. An Amber McGhee basket with 4:09 remaining in the first half increased the Larkin lead to 15, 25-10.

The one thing I told the girls was, We had to come out with a lot of energy,  Royals coach Ruben Flores said. We tried to keep the intensity up.

The Maroons (3-5, 0-2) turned the ball over 11 times in the first quarter and shot 6-of-28 (21 percent) from the field in the first half.

We had a lot of defensive breakdowns, Elgin coach Dr. Nick Bumbales said. We gave them some easy shots.

We had to chase them the rest of the night. That made it rough.

Elgin got within 8 twice in the third quarter, but the Royals scored the final 6 points of the third to take a 41-25 lead into the final quarter.

Larkin led 53-40 with 20 seconds remaining before the Maroons scored the final 7 points to make the final score look a little better.

Quixmia Washington led the Royals with 14 points. Rachel Martinez added 8 points and McGhee had 7. Shawndrea Hill had 9 rebounds for the Royals.